Sexually Suggestive Advertisements, Research Paper Example

In this study, it was hypothesized that unmatched gender would result in higher product name recall than matched gender. Moreover, sexually suggestive advertisements would prompt greater recall than neutral advertisements, regardless whether the genders were matched or unmatched.Results of the study supported that product recall was higherwhen the gender of the participants and the models in the advertisements were different.Individuals were generally attracted to the opposite sex due to innate behaviors. However, results did not show that sexually suggestive advertisements prompted better recall than sexually neutral advertisements. The results showed that sexually suggestive advertisements had the same average recall as the neutral advertisements when the gender of the participants and the models in the advertisements were the same. However, it was shown that sexually suggestive advertisements were recalled at a higher rate than the neutral advertisements when gender of the participants did not match the gender of the models’. The results were not significant in showing that that sexually suggestive advertisements prompted higher recalls than neutral advertisements.

It was additionally hypothesized that there would be an interactionin the average number of products recalled for sexually suggestive advertisements would be higher than that for neutral advertisements when the gender of the participants and model were unmatched. However, there was no significant relation to the actual results of the study. Instead, it was realized that there is an interaction between sexual suggestiveness and gender matching, so it could not be fully considered that sexually suggestive advertisements have specific impact on the general population of buyers in the market. Although the study’s collected data impose that the attention of the buyers is relatively gained by the advertisements, their perception toward products do not change, especially when it comes to the usability of the product to them which could actually help them decide whether or not to turn such points of interest into sales revenues for the business.

Advertisements are created to specifically get the attention of the market and turn such attention into a productive aspect, such as sales revenues. Only through this manner would the worth of an advertisement be realized and its actual value considered to have a great impact on the organization’s current status in the market. What constitutes a good advertisement, is its capacity to get attention of the public and turn such interest into sales; without such result then the practicality of the advertisement cannot be fully realized. In the case that has been experimented and observed upon in this study, it is presented how current ads utilize sexual promiscuity and liberalization as a theme of presenting the products, whether or not they have connective relation to gender-defined choices of items sold in the market. Basing from the results garnered, it is practically observed and accepted that modern advertisements based on sexual themes do not necessarily create sales for the business although they do get the attraction they desire from the market.

There were many limitations to consider in the research.One of the possible methodical limitations was the small sample size of 16 participants. A large sample size is required to find significant effect and relationship from the data collected. The small sample size could not represent the distribution of the general population. Another aspect to note is the fact that the sample size of the study consisted of 13 female and three male participants. Due to the fact that one of the variables in the study was gender, it is very important that the number of male and female participants is balanced accordingly. It is assumed that because of this condition of sample ratio, the results become partial thus specifically giving attention to the imbalance of reaction among gender defined members of the market as they respond to the advertisements that are presented for testing and research observation.

Another limitation was the design of the PowerPoint slideshows. The advertisements in the slideshows were unprofessional and did not represent real-life advertisements. The product names were not uniform in length and syllables. The uneven distribution of syllables and length in the product names could have both increased difficulty in memory retention among the participants and created subconscious like or dislike for the product. All product names should have been equal in both their length and amount of syllables.

However, this study could serve a strong foundation for future research if some amendments were made. A sample population should be higher than 16 people. By increasing the amount of participants and ensuring an equal number of males and females, a better representation of the general public can be obtained. The sample size would have to be expanded beyond students at the University of California in Los Angeles. Finding random participants in shopping centers, restaurants, healthcare facilities, or other social establishments would increase the sample size and lend more validity to the results. The age requirements should also be expanded, as a population between the ages of 30 to 35 may have a different opinion to marketing than a population of 19-23. If the study would be further expanded, this experiment could be replicated in smaller towns and suburban areas in addition to the city of Los Angeles. Results could be compared to study the effect of gender and sexuality in advertisements based upon location.

In the follow-up study, the professionalism of the advertisements should be prioritized. The product names must be equal in the length and amount of syllables. The advertisements should also be rated for their level of sexual suggestiveness to control for variability. The advertisements could be rated on a scale of one through five, with one being rated as neutral and five being rated as highly sexual in nature.

By repairing the limitations, a follow-up study has the potential to yield very different results. The research in this study, while flawed by its limitations, still serves as a strong foundation for further exploration.

The results of the study imply that not every sexually suggestive form of advertisement would be able to get the attention needed from the market. Though it is definite that sexually suggestive commercial advertisementsreceive attention, only a small percentage of these advertisements would be able to convince potential customers to buy the product.